Turkey said today it was awaiting a US reply to its conditions for allowing US troops to base on its territory for a possible attack on Iraq.
Washington is urgently awaiting a deal so that shiploads of US military hardware, lingering off Mediterranean ports, can be unloaded.
Turkey, however, is demanding concrete guarantees not only of billions of dollars in aid but also on the political and military future of Iraq.
The United States had expected Turkey's parliament to vote on Tuesday to approve deployment of tens of thousands of US troops for a northern front against Iraq in the event of war.
But a decision has been delayed as Ankara seeks to improve an approximately $26 billion package to cushion the impact of a war.
Turkey, a close US ally, feels it was never properly compensated for damage it suffered in the 1991 Gulf War and is determined to ensure its interests are protected this time. Ankara sees any war as a potential disaster that could upset the region, raise the cost of oil and batter its tourism trade.
It also wants pledges that the United States will not allow Kurds in northern Iraq to set up their own state. The future of the oil-rich Iraqi cities of Mosul and Kirkuk are of concern to Turkey, which acts as a transit country for a pipeline carrying their oil to the Mediterranean.
US officials say their financial offer is final but the details could be tuned. Should Turkey fail to accept the US troops, it would forfeit the financial package. Financial markets, which have assumed a deal, would fall steeply in anticipation of economic storms ahead.